Monday, March 17, 2025 – Edition: #7915
Happy St Paddy’s Day, for Sheet’s Sake!
BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ Wendy Williams took aim at her court-appointed guardianship in an interview with “The View” Friday, insisting she’s not cognitively impaired and doesn’t know why she’s being kept in a “memory unit” at an assisted living facility. While discussing her guardian and the judge who ordered the guardianship in a phone interview, Williams said: “Get off my neck”, adding that she just wants to “move on” with her life. Last year, the 60-year-old’s guardian claimed she’d become “cognitively impaired and permanently incapacitated” following a diagnosis of early-onset dementia. Williams has maintained she’s not cognitively impaired, and is being kept “in a prison,” and allowed limited contact with her family.
-NBC
★ “Novocaine”, starring Jack Quaid, got off to a good start at the domestic box office with an estimated $8.5 million opening weekend, in an exceptionally slow time for theaters. That was expected to be enough to beat the second weekend of “Mickey 17,” which is estimated to have dropped from its $19 million opening to $7.6 million. That adds up to the lowest weekend total in 2025 at a time when business usually picks up. The totals for the last 2 weekends are the lowest since 1997, not counting the pandemic years. Some help is on the way this weekend with the release of Disney’s “Snow White,” which is expected to take in about $50 million.
-TheWrap
★ Sean “Diddy” Combs looked much older at an appearance in court Friday, say several eyewitnesses. One reporter, who was inside the Manhattan federal courtroom, remarked that the embattled rapper looked bloated and old. Combs had a puffy figure and was sporting gray hair and a gray chinstrap beard. Combs pleaded not guilty to 2 superseding indictments in his ongoing federal case for sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution charges. Combs, who celebrated his 55th birthday behind bars in November, was reported to look “astonishingly thinner” in December.
-PageSix
★ Jessie Holmes, who appeared on Nat Geo series “Life Below Zero”, which follows people living in the most remote parts of Alaska, won the famed Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. It was his 8th time in the race, which this year was expanded from the normal 1,000 miles across the Alaskan wilds to more than 1,100 due to lack of snow — making it the longest Iditarod ever. Holmes crossed the finish line Friday in Nome with a time of 10 days, 14 hours, 55 minutes and 41 seconds. He called it a “magical feeling”.
-Deadline
★ Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams got an out-of-this-world greeting in space. Sunday, the pair — who have been stranded in space for 9 months — were surprised when Crew-9 commander Nick Hague greeted them wearing an “Alien” costume as he docked with the SpaceX crew at the International Space Station. In footage shared by the Space Station, Hague is seen entering the hatch wearing an alien mask. He later floats towards the smiling pair while pointing to something off-camera. NASA confirmed yesterday that astronauts arrived at the ISS on the on the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft to bring Wilmore and Williams home. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/3z6c3rvx
-People
TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (ABC/Global): Jason Momoa, Rachel Zegler
• “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV): Michael Shannon, Leslie Bibb, Jonathan Roumie, Nick Thune
• “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” (CBS/Global): George Clooney, Alan Ritchson (R)
• “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (NBC/CTV): James Marsden, Cazzie David (R)
• “After Midnight” (CBS/Global): Kumail Nanjiani, Jonah Ray, Emily Gordon (R)
• “Watch What Happens Live” (Bravo): Chrissy Teigen, Harry Van Vliet
• “The Daily Show” (COM): host Jon Stewart
• “The View” (ABC/CTV): Ellen Pompeo
• “Today” (NBC): Shamrock Tenors, Tim Sweeney, Radio City Rockettes, Willie Geist co-hosts
• “GMA3” (ABC): Jonathan Roumie, Sally Holmes, Mike Muse
• “Live With Kelly and Mark” (ABC/CTV): Tim Allen, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Jim Kwik
• “The Kelly Clarkson Show” (Check local listings): Stanley Tucci, Iliza Shlesinger, Denis Leary, Jesse L. Martin, guest host Kal Penn
• “The Drew Barrymore Show” (Check local listings): Chrissy Teigen, Paulina Porizkova, Jack Quaid
• “The Jennifer Hudson Show” (Check local listings): Kat Dennings, Kate Flannery
• “The Voice” (NBC): The Battles Part 2
• “2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards” (Fox): Lady Gaga is honored with the Innovator Award; Mariah Carey receives the Icon Award; LL Cool J hosts. Performers include Bad Bunny, Billie Eilish, Gracie Abrams and Kenny Chesney.
• “The Bachelor” (ABC): Grant and his final 3 arrive in the Dominican Republic. With overnight dates approaching, the women meet with Bachelor favorites to reflect on their feelings.
BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Justin Bieber – In a vulnerable post to his Instagram Stories, he shared he often feels “unequipped and unqualified.” Among his musings: “I personally have always felt unworthy like I was a fraud.” And “When people told me I deserve something. It made me feel sneaky like. Damn if they only knew my thoughts.”
• Chappell Roan – has gone country — for one song anyway. Friday, she released the banjo and fiddle-infused single ‘The Giver’. She wrote on IG: “I have such a special place in my heart for country music. I grew up listening to it…on my school bus and had it swirling around me at bon fires, grocery stores and karaoke bars. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/4ndtdvd3
• Kiss – Gene Simmons appeared as a surprise guest on LA TV station Fox 11 to present the evening weather alongside regular meteorologist Adam Krueger. Kruger slipped in Kiss references including: “There’s been a lot of rain lately, and the rain you drive us wild, we’ll drive you crazy talking about this rain.” Simmons replied: “Hey, I wrote that. I like that.” LINK: https://tinyurl.com/59war8z2
• Journey — was forced to end its concert in Houston on Friday due to an electrical fire. As the group started playing ‘Don’t Stop Believin’’ less than an hour into their gig at NRG Stadium, power on stage cut out, then crew was spotted rushing the stage, holding fire extinguishers. Soon, an announcement came over the speaker telling fans to evacuate.
• Iron Maiden and Oasis – both have films coming. Maiden’s will be a full-length doc that’ll hit theaters this fall to coincide with the metal legends’ 50th anniversary. Oasis’ upcoming reunion shows will be the subject of a film called “Live ’25”, to be produced by “Peaky Blinders” creator Steven Knight.
• Morgan Wallen – announced Friday that his 4th studio album, “I’m the Problem” is “officially done”, and a tour of the same name will launch June 20. He released the title track Jan31. No word yet on an album release date. He also shared a clip of the new song ‘Just in Case’. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/5xv9c3jb
• Blake Shelton – begs God for forgiveness in his new ballad ‘Let Him in Anyway’, but not for himself. In the song, released Friday, the narrator tries to intervene for a friend who was “starting to listen” after he brought him to church, but didn’t reach for redemption before dying. The song is from Shelton’s upcoming album “For Recreational Use Only”, out May 9. LINK: https://tinyurl.com/36fw2cre
• Brad Paisley – is thankful that Alan Jackson helped him along on his journey to stardom – and that’s why he is happy to be a booster for country music’s new crop. For his 2025 “Truck Still Works” tour, he has loaded up on quality opening acts, including Walker Hayes, Alexandra Kay, Avery Anna, Dylan Scott and Mae Estes. Quote: “I remember that first tour, it was Alan Jackson for me in the beginning.”
SHOOTING THE BULL
STRESS REACTION:
The old saying “happy wife, happy life” isn’t just a cliché, it turns out. In fact, new research says that when your spouse is in a positive emotional state, it could actually be good for YOUR health. University of California, Davis researchers found that when your partner experiences positive emotions, it can lower your cortisol levels, the primary stress hormone, regardless of how you yourself are feeling. In simple terms, the study of 321 couples in long-term relationships found that your partner’s good mood might be doing your body good, even if you’re not sharing their happiness. The association between a partner’s positive emotions and lower stress hormones was most pronounced for people who reported higher relationship satisfaction.
(And, of course, the opposite is true as well. For reference, see: “My first marriage”!)
(So basically, I should just give my wife chocolate and call it ‘self-care’?)
-StudyFinds
PAYCHECK CHECK:
Was it payday for you on Friday? If so, chances are, your money’s pretty much gone by now, according to the results of a recent survey. In fact, the average person has already “mentally spent” more than half of their paycheck before it even lands in their account. The survey of 2,000 employed Americans who make less than $75,000 per year found that overdue bills (38%) are a leading cause for “mentally spending” pay before it is received. Over half said they have 1-4 of those to deal with in any given month. Large bills, like rent or a mortgage (56%) are the most likely things to be looked after being paid, followed by necessities, such as food and medications (51%) and smaller bills like electric or water (38%). Results showed that the average person puts 64% of their pay towards “needs”, and 16% to “wants”, such as something fun — and 16% goes toward savings.
(Yeah, I put about 16% into “wants”. For example: I “want” to get my car fixed, so I’m going to pay my mechanic!)
(‘Mentally’ spent my paycheck? I’m mentally spent just thinking about it!)
-SWNS
GOOD-LUCK CHARMS FROM AROUND THE WORLD:
You know that the 4-leaf clover is famous for giving the “luck of the Irish”, especially on St. Patrick’s Day. Here are some more from other corners of the world…
✓ Rabbit’s foot (worldwide): Some cultures believed rabbits were really shapeshifting witches, so a rabbit’s foot actually equaled a dead witch’s foot, hence good luck. (But not for the rabbit!)
✓ Dreamcatcher: A symbol of good luck among native communities in North America, it is believed to filter out nightmares so that only positive dreams are remembered.
✓ Acorn: According to English legend, the “fruit of the oak” can protect the health of those who find one, and carry it in a pocket.
✓ Scarab: Scarabs are beetles known for rolling dung across the ground(!) Ancient Egyptians associated the beetle with their god Ra, and believed the scarab beetle brought good health and eternal life. (I don’t see the “dung” connection, do you?)
✓ Anything red: In China, red has long represented strength and protection. Legend has it that a demon named Sui ate children and livestock during the Lunar New Year. There were 2 things the mythical beast hated: loud noises and the color red.
✓ Elephant: In many Asian cultures, the elephant is a symbol of good fortune, because Ganesh, the Hindu god of wisdom and luck, is depicted as having an elephant’s head. (It’s not recommended you carry one in your pocket, however…)
✓ Grapes: In Spain, it is customary to eat 12 of them on New Year’s at the stroke of midnight, to bring good fortune and abundance.
✓ Horseshoes: They’ve been a symbol of good fortune for centuries. The good-luck claims became popular in the US when some began hanging them over doorways, to generate protection and good luck.
✓ And by the way, the 4-leaf clover supposedly protects from dangerous fairies, bad luck and evil spirits. The chances of pulling one from the patch is around 1 in 10,000. (So – good luck!)
-ReadersDigest
HOW THE WORLD CELEBRATES ST PATRICK’S DAY:
• London, England – Thousands gather for festivities and a concert in Trafalgar Square, where fountain waters are dyed green.
• Munich, Germany – Germany’s St Patrick’s Day Parade is considered one of the largest anywhere outside of Ireland, with over 1,500 participants. Festivities last all weekend long.
• New York, NY – The annual St Patrick’s Day Parade, the world’s largest, has honored the patron saint of Ireland for over 260 years, since 1762.
• Singapore – Members of the city-state’s Irish community come together to celebrate in a 3-day-long street festival. Events include performances, parades, and Irish food & drink.
• Sydney, Australia – St Patrick himself (or at least a good replica) makes an appearance in the parade, which features more than 70 floats to represent all 32 counties of Ireland.
• Washington DC – Green water flows and geysers from the large fountain on the South Lawn of the White House.
• Around here – The usual drunks drink at their usual haunts, and wonder why their beer’s green!
-ReadersDigest, first published in BS in 2022
2-STEP GREEN BEER (NO BS!):
Makes: 1 pint
• 2 drops green food coloring
• 1 bottle light-colored beer (your choice)
1. Drop food coloring into the bottom of a chilled pint glass.
2. Top with your favorite light-colored beer. Enjoy!
(So easy, I could do it even after drinking a few pints of normal-colored beer!)
-GoodHousekeeping
DID YOU KNOW?
People exercise in order to look good more than for health. That surprising finding emerged when Tel Aviv University researchers studied fitness motivation in an unusual way: they analyzed Reddit conversations instead of using traditional surveys. They found that physical appearance was the top motivation for exercise (24% of comments), with physical health (19%) and mental health (17%) trailing behind. (Me? I do it to justify eating cake right afterward!)
-StudyFinds
BS CHRONOMETER 03.17.25
TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “St Patrick’s Day”, the Irish national holiday that began as a ‘solemn religious observance’ to honor St Patrick (389-461 AD), patron saint of Ireland. It’s a public holiday in Ireland, Montserrat, and the Canadian province of Newfoundland & Labrador. Some fast facts …
– It’s been an Irish holiday for 1,500 years.
– The world’s largest “St Patrick’s Parade” is in NYC, where 2 million spectators and 150,000 participants turn out. A tradition since 1762, the parade lasts about 6 hours.
– It was first celebrated in Canada in 1765 in Québec City QC.
– Green is associated with “St Patrick’s Day” because it’s the color of Spring, Ireland, and the shamrock.
• “Corned Beef & Cabbage Day”. You’d think that corned beef and boiled cabbage is a traditional Irish dish for St. Patrick’s Day, but it’s not. It’s an Irish-American invention, originating when Irish immigrants discovered that beef was cheaper than pork in America at the time.
• “Act Happy Day”, adopted in 2012 by the UN in acknowledgment that the pursuit of happiness is a fundamental human goal.
HAPPIEST COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD, 2024 (According to the World Happiness Report, which will release its 2025 list today):
1. Finland (7th year running…)
2. Denmark
3. Iceland
4. Sweden
5. Israel
• “Submarine Day”, to commemorate this date in 1898, when Irish-born engineer John Philip Holland demonstrated a submarine he designed, the “Holland VI”, for the US Navy. During the demonstration, the vessel was submerged for 1 hour and 40 minutes. (That seemed to “go down” well…)
• “Camp Fire Girls Day”, saluting the sister organization to the Boy Scouts of America. In 1975, the name was changed to Camp Fire Boys and Girls, in 2001 to Camp Fire USA, and to Camp Fire in 2012.
• “Dribble to Work Day”, saluting the teams participating in the women’s and men’s NCAA Division Basketball Tournament — also known as “March Madness”. Today, you’re encouraged to dribble a basketball on your way to work, and share pics or video on social media. (And why not? After all, you ARE ‘traveling’…)
AND REMEMBER . . .
[Tues] Awkward Moments Day
[Tues] Sloppy Joe Day
[Wed] Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Day
[Thurs] Spring arrives at 5:01am EDT (Northern Hemisphere)
This Week is…Clutter Awareness Week
This Month is…Women’s History Month
TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1944 [81] John Sebastian, New York NY, pop-rock singer/guitarist (The Lovin’ Spoonful-‘ Do You Believe in Magic’, ‘Summer in the City’, solo-“Welcome Back Kotter” theme)
1949 [76] Patrick Duffy, Townsend MT, TV actor (“Dallas” 1978-1991 2012-14, “Step by Step” 1991-98)
1951 [74] Kurt Russell, Springfield MA, movie actor (“Escape from L.A.”, “Guardians of the Galaxy 2”)/partner of Goldie Hawn since 1983. COMING UP… “Smurfs” 2025
1955 [70] Gary Sinise, Blue Island IL, TV actor (“Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders” 2016, “CSI: NY” 2004-13)/movie actor (“Captain America: The Winter Soldier”, “Forrest Gump”)
1964 [61] Rob Lowe, Charlottesville VA, TV actor (“9-1-1: Lone Star” 2020-25, “Parks & Recreation” 2010-15)/movie actor (“St. Elmo’s Fire”, ‘Austin Powers’ films) COMING UP… “The Third Parent” 2025
1967 [58] Billy Corgan, Chicago IL, rock singer-guitarist (Smashing Pumpkins-‘1979’, ‘Bullet with Butterfly Wings’)
1972 [53] Melissa Auf der Maur, Montreal QC, rock bassist (Hole-‘Celebrity Skin’, The Smashing Pumpkins)
1973 [52] Keifer Thompson, Miami OK, country singer (Thompson Square-‘If I Didn’t Have You’, ‘Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not?’)
1988 [37] “Grimes” (Claire Boucher), Vancouver BC, electronica singer-songwriter-producer (‘Flesh Without Blood’)/ex-partner of Elon Musk, mother of “Y” (Exa Dark Sideræland), “X Æ A-Xii” (pron: Ex Ash A Twelve), and Techno (“Tau”) Mechanicus with Musk
1990 [35] Hozier (Andrew Hozier-Byrne), Bray Ireland, folk-pop singer-songwriter (‘Take Me to Church’, ‘Too Sweet’)
1992 [33] John Boyega (Adegboyega), London England, movie actor (‘Finn’ in “Star Wars” films, “Pacific Rim: Uprising”)
THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
2003 [22] On the first episode of MTV’s practical joke show “Punk’d”, host Ashton Kutcher stages a prank involving the IRS that makes Justin Timberlake cry.
2020 [05] The musical “Cats” wins 6 awards, including ‘worst film’ at the Golden Raspberry Film Awards (Razzies).
TODAY’S MUSIC EVENTS . . .
2008 [17] Heather Mills is awarded £23.7 million (about $47 million) in her divorce from Paul McCartney. She had sought £125m, he was offering £15.8m.
2023 [02] Taylor Swift launches her “Eras Tour” in Glendale AZ. The 3-hour show is divided into 10 acts dedicated to the music and looks of each of her previous albums. It would become the highest-grossing tour of all time, earning over $2 billion in revenue.
TODAY’S FIRST . . .
2000 [25] Julia Roberts becomes the first actress ever to command $20 million for a movie, with the release of “Erin Brockovich”.
TODAY’S RECORD . . .
2018 [07] At their St. Patrick’s Day concert in Brussels, The Script buy a drink for everyone in the audience of 8,000, setting a Guinness World Record for “world’s biggest round”.
BULL’S BITS
BS WHACK O’FACTS:
✓ St. Patrick’s Day could have been called St. Maewyn’s Day. St. Patrick’s birth name was Maewyn Succat, but he changed it to Patricius after becoming a priest.
✓ Historians say that St. Patrick’s color was blue, not green. The use of green started in the 1600s.
✓ Although St. Patrick is given credit for driving the snakes out of Ireland, fossil records show that the country has never been home to any snakes.
✓ Holy trinity aside, later interpretations of the meaning of a clover’s leaves were that they represent hope, love, and faith. If there’s a 4th leaf, it symbolizes luck, which is why 4-leaf clovers are considered to be lucky.
✓ There’s no corn in corned beef. That’s a nod to the large grains of salt that were historically used to cure meats, which were known as “corns.”
✓ Until the 1970s, St. Patrick’s Day was a religious occasion, and thus a dry holiday where the only alcohol available in Ireland was at the national dog show.
-GoodHousekeeping, MentalFloss
Best of BS . . .
BS ST PATRICK’S DAY TOASTS:
• “May your 18 children…learn to use contraceptives.”
• “May you never remember the night before.”
• “May the wind at your back not be the result of the corned beef & cabbage you had for lunch.”
• “Here’s to getting shille-laid!”
• “Here’s green beer in your eye!”
• “Hey! You! Wake up and drink this!”
• “Awww … not on my shoes!”
-First published in BS in 2000
BS SIGNS YOU’VE HAD A BAD ‘SPRING BREAK’:
• You used an entire box of condoms and never slept with anyone.
• Next month you have to go back for ‘sentencing’.
• During the 27-hour car trip, your friends insisted on playing their entire collection of karaoke music.
• You first learned that jet skis have no brakes when you smashed into the pier.
• You stayed on campus to take advantage of short cafeteria lines.
• The clinic says your Spring Break ‘souvenir’ will only go away with penicillin.
• You studied a lot.
• You can actually REMEMBER Spring Break.
• Three words — pasty white thighs.
BS WEB GOODIE:
Classic: https://tinyurl.com/rh7funyr
BS RANDOM JOKE:
I have a lot of fond St. Patrick’s Day memories. Vague, but fond.
BS ST PATRICK’S DAY QUIZ:
• True or false – St Patrick wasn’t Irish? [TRUE. He was born in Wales, then captured and sent to Ireland as a slave]
• True or false – a shamrock is a weed? [TRUE, from the clover family]
• Who’s taller – a leprechaun or ‘GI Joe’? [The original GI Joe was just under 12 inches, while your average leprechaun is about 24 inches tall, according to Irish folklore]
• What sound should you listen for in order to catch a leprechaun? [Treasure hunters often track down a leprechaun by listening for the sound of his shoemaker’s hammer]
• What does an Irishman call his ‘companion for life’ – his shillelagh (shi-lay-lee), his whiskey jug, or his beloved wee wife? [His shillelagh. Made from blackthorn, they rarely wear out]
• How do you spell ‘whiskey’? [Whiskey in Ireland is spelled with an ‘e’ before the ‘y’. Scottish Whisky (or Scotch) is spelled without the ‘e.’ The same applies to the US vs Canada.]
• (***CAUTION***) Is it legal for an Irishman to beat his ‘bodhran’ (bow-rawn) in public? [Sure, it’s the traditional sheepskin drum of Ireland]
–IrishTouristBoard
☎ BS PHONE STARTER:
What’s the best example of “the luck of the Irish” that you’ve ever witnessed?
BS WATER COOLER QUESTIONS:
• Among those celebrating today, 83% will have THIS in common. What is it?
Answer: They’ll be wearing something green
• The top 2 things single women say look for in a man are humor and kindness. What’s #3?
Answer: That he’s taller than she is
BS DEEP THOUGHT:
A good friend is like a four-leaf clover: hard to find and lucky to have.
